1. Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021…
a. How many children (under 18 years old) were recorded as ‘missing’ in your local authority?
Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021 a total of 543 children were recorded as missing. This figure is the number of individual children that went missing a minimum of once during this period and not the total number of missing episodes recorded during this period. The figure is for all children under 18 including children looked after.
b. How many Looked After Children were recorded as ‘missing’ in your local authority?
Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021 a total of 147 children looked after were recorded as missing. This figure is the number of individual children that went missing a minimum of once during this period and not the total number of missing episodes recorded during this period.
2. Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021, please breakdown…
a. How many children (under 18 years old) who were not Looked After were recorded as missing:
| Total Missing Episodes | No. of children |
| Once | 273 |
| Twice | 51 |
| Three times | 21 |
| Four times | 18 |
| Five times | 7 |
| Between six and 10 times | 20 |
| Between 11 and 20 times | 4 |
| Between 21 and 50 times | 2 |
| Between 51 and 100 times | 0 |
| More than 100 times | 0 |
b. How many Looked After Children were recorded as missing:
| Total Missing Episodes | No. of children |
| Once | 44 |
| Twice | 19 |
| Three times | 12 |
| Four times | 15 |
| Five times | 9 |
| Between six and 10 times | 21 |
| Between 11 and 20 times | 18 |
| Between 21 and 50 times | 9 |
| Between 51 and 100 times | 0 |
| More than 100 times | 0 |
3. Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021…
a. How many Return Interviews were offered to children (under 18 years old) who were not looked after who had been missing?
Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021, 721 Return Home Interviews (RHIs) were offered to children under 18 who were not looked after.
b. How many Return Interviews were accepted and received by children (under 18 years old) who were not looked after?
Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021, 608 Return Home Interviews were accepted by children under 18 who were not looked after.
Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021, 358 Return Home Interviews were completed by children under 18 who were not looked after.
c. How many Return Home Interviews were offered to Looked After Children who had been missing?
Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021, 489 Return Home Interviews were offered to children whose status was Child Looked After.
d. How many Return Interviews were accepted and received by Looked After Children?
Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021, 426 Return Home Interviews were accepted by children whose status was Child Looked After.
Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021, 186 Return Home Interviews were completed by children whose status was Child Looked After.
e. How many accepted Return Interviews were carried out by staff:
i. From the local authority (please name the local authority department)?
All of the Devon County Council Return Home Interviews mentioned in the responses above are carried out by local authority staff, whether by the REACH team or other social care professional.
ii. Commissioned services (please name the commissioned service)?
All Return Home Interviews are carried out by DCC staff.
4. Who is the provider for your local authority’s Return Interview service? (if there are several providers, please provide details of all and the nature of their role)
Return Home Interviews are completed by the REACH Team – Devon County Council’s specialist missing and exploitation team. (REACH stands for ‘Reducing Exploitation And Missing from Care or Home’.)
5. Please share details of any resources or support that your local authority provides directly to children who have been missing.
The REACH Team is a specialist service within Devon County Council Childrens Services and oversees missing episodes for all children within Devon, including those known to Childrens Services, those not known to Childrens Services and those children who are placed in Devon by other Local Authorities.
The REACH Team offer and complete Return Home Interviews, and provide follow-on support and interventions when required, in order to reduce the risk of further missing episodes. The team also monitor and track missing episodes and provide data and analysis through regular reporting.
REACH maintain the lead for completing RHI’s, however in circumstances where it is recognised that another professional may have either a well established relationship or may have a greater impact completing the RHI, the team will liaise with the relevant professional to determine who will complete the RHI. Approximately 20% of RHIs are allocated to social workers or colleagues in the Bridges Team (the Edge of Care Team for Devon County Council).
The team work closely with professionals and contribute to planning and risk management meetings. All direct work undertaken by the REACH Team with young people is planned and targeted and typically delivered over a short-term period using specialist resources.
Please note: some children came under both categories, ie CLA (Child Looked After) and non-CLA during the year. These children have been counted under CLA only to avoid duplication.